Meet Pascale, the creative mind behind the bohemian concept store L'Esprit Bagus in Marseillan

The shelves of concept store L’Esprit Bagus are stocked with a unique selection of decorative objects and home accessories, as well as small furniture pieces that are inspiring and unconventional. The assortment in L’esprit Bagus is of the highest quality, made from primarily natural or raw materials, and limited in quantity.

Inspired after several trips to Indonesia, founder Pascale Ripoll fittingly included ‘bagus’ in her shop name – the Indonesian adjective used to describe items that are simultaneously beautiful, cool, good, and inspiring.

The 47-year-old mother of two embarked on her entrepreneurial adventure after more than 15 years in the private sector and navigating two years through the Covid-19 pandemic.. A desire to change her life and reinvent herself professionally enabled her to realise her dream of opening a shop that represents her love of decoration, artisanal know-how, and the sharing and exchanging of ideas.

The Ankorstart team was proud to offer their support throughout this personal project from March 2022 until the shop’s opening on 14th June 2022.

Pascale took time to develop her project behind the scenes prior to launching. She enrolled in two training courses in partnership with Pôle Emploi to acquire entrepreneurial skills and to identify the main stages of setting up a business.

Sourcing and curating her launch assortment proved to be her main pain point. She struggled with knowing how to choose products that complemented each other, how to optimise her search for suppliers, and how to build a sustainable and profitable stock inventory.

David, one of our Ankorstart experts, helped Pascale overcome these challenges by supporting and advising her before and during her shop opening.

David helped Pascale with the key issues around developing her business:

• The efficient search for suppliers according to her constraints and budget.
• The different functionalities of the Ankorstore platform, in particular the management of her back office.
• Her long-term vision of her business, especially around product sourcing.

David also shared with Pascale a recommendation of bestselling brands and products in her sector of activity to optimise the launch of her shop and allow her to fine-tune her assortment.

Ankorstore’s minimum order value of £100 per brand allowed her to test several products and identify the bestsellers for her shop while limiting her financial risks. She also worked with David to obtain 60-day payment terms, which freed up her cash flow, allowing her to contract a local freelancer to work on designing her branding and developing her social media strategy.

This initiative paid off because it allowed Pascale to work on her communication strategy before opening and gain visibility quickly. From day one, valuable time was saved, enabling this new retailer to launch her shop successfully.

Thanks to the Ankorstart team’s mobilisation, Pascale could meet her deadlines and be open on her desired date. Today, she places most of her orders and manages her back office autonomously on the Ankorstore platform.